READERS GUIDE
CLUES
CLUES
In The Thrift Shop Diary, Ellie's search for answers to her mother's mysterious phone call leads to a set of veiled clues steeped in art, literature, music, fashion, and mysticism.
ART
A Maid Asleep
Artist: Johannes Vermeer
Dimensions: 2′ 10″ x 2′ 6″
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Medium: Oil paint on canvas
Date: 1656-57
Ellie finds a postcard of this painting in the attic box and it ultimately provides the key to her mother's secret.
Mona Lisa
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Dimensions: 2′ 6″ x 1′ 9″
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Medium: Oil on panel
Date: 1503
While this painting is technically not a clue, the mysterious Mona Lisa -- who surfaces several times in the novel -- serves as a metaphor to the mystery of Sophie McBride. At the end of the diary, Ellie and her family go to Paris and see the painting at the Louvre.
LITERATURE
Swann's Way by Marcel Proust published in 1908
Swann's Way by Marcel Proust published in 1908
MUSIC
The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amedeo Mozart written in 1791
The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amedeo Mozart written in 1791